1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lock, and more particularly to a compound lock that integrates two different lock assemblies in a housing and can be unlocked with a key or by dialing a combination.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
The combination lock is a simple lock, is commonly used, is locked or unlocked by turning wheels and obviates the risk of losing a key. People use combinations in many things like ATMs (automated teller machines), safes, personal computers, encryption of files or access to a specific network. However, a single combination for all applications is a significant security risk, in that someone identifying one combination will be able to access all other applications that use the same combination.
People usually set different combinations in different things for safety, but remembering the correct combination is more difficult. When a person forgets a digital combination that was set in a device like an ATM or a computer, he can inquire or reset a combination. However, when the combination of a mechanical combination lock is forgotten, the only way to remove the lock usually requires breaking the lock. Therefore, people must remember every single combination of all mechanical combination locks to successfully unlock them. It is really inconvenient.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a compound lock to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.